In More Ways Than One
by Sinical-Sarchasm
Summary: A new girl named Bronwen comes to Hogwarts, and Harry falls in love with her. But Bronwen appears to be hiding something. Is there more to Bronwen than what meets the eye? May be offensive to some.


A.N.: I know I haven't written anything for...what...maybe about three months? Four months? Too many months? Anyway, I finally got around to writing something: this author's note! No, really, please read the story! 

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything you recognize from the books. I own the other stuff, including the plot (but who would want to own the plot?). 

The girl sat in the Gryffindor commonroom that chilly November day, and couldn't help but feel astonished at how the place really looked. Now that she thought of it, she didn't really know what she thought it would look like: a place with lions and griffins dancing around? A room chock full of Dumbledores? Of Weasleys? 

No, certainly none of these -- but they (they being the Slytherins) would never have thought it looked so ordinary, so welcoming, as this. But then, the Slytherins had many misconceptions of all things Gryffindor. 

She forced herself to divert herself to the matter at hand: Harry. It was he, not the room, that was of utmost importance to her. It took her little time to see him. He was seated next to a boy unmistakably the son of Arthur Weasley, and a girl, with dark brown hair and chestnut eyes, reading a large book. 

Slowly she walked up to him. "Hello, are you...Harry?" 

He looked swiftly up at her and found himself looking at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, not excepting Cho and Fleur and Padma and Parvati. Her beautiful hair fell elegantly down her shoulders, and she had eyes which seemed to sparkle all the time. There seemed to be a charm about her -- not that artificial, put-on charm, but a simple yet extraordinary natural one. His voice faltering he said,"H-hello. What--what's your name?" Seconds later he chided himself for saying such a stupid thing -- not a way, he realized, to win a beautiful girl's heart. Not that he'd had much hope to begin with anyway. 

She thought swiftly. Half of her wanted to blurt out the truth, but the other half kept quiet, wanting to know Harry as any friend, any peer, would know him, not be treated the way she knew Harry would if he knew. "I'm...Bronwen. From a transfer school." She spoke the first name which came to her mind. 

The brown-haired girl looked up from her book. "Oh, hello Bronwen, nice to meet you. I'm Hermione Granger. What school do you come from?" 

"You...wouldn't have heard about it, I'm sure," the girl (whom from now on we shall call Bronwen) said, "It's a very small and quite new school." 

"Oh, I'm sure I have; I was only reading _An Appraisal of Magical Education, Edition III_ a few days ago," Hermione replied amiably. 

"No, really, it was only founded extremely recently," Bronwen answered as she wondered why anyone would ever read such a dull book as _An Appraisal of Magical Education_, "It wouldn't even be in Edition III." 

"Really?" said Hermione, "But where is it? What's it called? Are there houses, like at Hogwarts? Who founded it? When --" 

"Oh, just lay off of her, Hermi," Ron said with a slight groan. "She just came and you're already quizzing her on her school." He turned to Bronwen and smiled. "Hi, I'm Ron. Hermione over there is the school brain, Head Girl, et cetera, et cetera." When Hermione gave him a slightly hurt look, so he kissed her cheek (causing Hermione to blush a little) and said, "And my girlfriend too." Bronwen giggled a little. 

"So you're in Gryffindor?" Harry said. It was a rhetorical question, in fact, more of a statement than a question. "What year are you in?" 

What year was she in? Bronwen had absolutely no idea. She looked for a sign, any sign, about what year she had been brought into. Finally she realized she was wearing an amethyst ring, that which He had given her in her seventh year. "In my seventh year, " she answered after a moments pause. 

"Oh! So you'd be in our classes. Which elective classes did you take at your old school?" Hermione asked curiously. 

"Um..." Bronwen searched her mind for which classes she was taking before. These circumstances could make one a bit forgetful. After a bit she remembered. "Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures." 

"Oh! Then shouldn't you be hurrying off to Arithmancy now? Here, I'll come with you, I have it now too," Hermione said. So the two hurried off through the portrait hole. 

"Well, I suppose we ought to be going off to divination now," said Harry with a slight groan, and the two set off together. 

***

"And she said,'Do you want to go to the dance,' and then he sort of blushed and said yes, he'd love too --" Parvati was telling Lavender. The two were sitting in their dormitory, empty except for themselves. 

"Ohmigosh!" Lavender squealed. "Seriously? I can't believe it, Bronwen and Harry are going out to the winter dance!" 

The whole school was discussing it. Harry, though he had gone to dances with girls before,had never had a steady girlfriend, but now that he had Bronwen, half the boys in the school were envious of him. Bronwen was wondering what she was thinking, and then she remembered that she wanted to get to know Harry the way anyone else would -- not the way she would get to know him if he knew who she really was. And Harry was just walking on air, eagerly awaiting the winter dance. 

***

The couple danced in perfect rhythm to the music, unaware of everything around them, aware only of one another. Harry softly kissed Bronwen. "You know what Bronwen?" he whispered into her ear as they continued to dance. 

"Hmmm?" asked Bronwen. 

"I really love you," Harry said. He knew it was a statement of the obvious, but he had to say it. 

Her voice faltering, Bronwen said, "I love you too." She knew that this was a strange statement, with her being who she is, but besides, it was sort of true -- in that she did love him. Perhaps not the way he was thinking, but in a real and sweet way. 

At long last, too soon for Harry, the dance ended. 

***

Bronwen and Harry walked together towards the place where Care of Magical Creatures was being held. Suddenly Bronwen felt a funny feeling, like the air coming out of her body, her disappearing. She knew she had only a few moments to talk to Harry again and tell him the truth. 

Tears in her eyes, her voice almost silent with grief, she said, "I'm about to have to leave you, Harry." 

"What?" Harry's voice registered her shock. "What do you mean?" 

"Listen, there's a lot that I haven't told you, and I hope you won't get mad at me. But I'm you're mother. Lily Potter. A very complicated necromancy spell allowed me to come to this world for a short amount of time. But now I have to leave forever," Lily said, as tears freely flowed down her cheeks. 

"You're...my mum?" Harry looked incredulously at Lily. "But...who did the necromancy? And why didn't you tell me?" 

"It was Ginny," Lily answered, "Ginny Weasley. And I didn't tell you because...oh Harry, I wanted to really know you. Like anyone would." 

Then she flung her arms around him, for one last time, and said, "Harry, I'll always love you. In more ways than one." And with that, she disappeared forever. 

A.N.II: Yes, I know that was really weird. Please, please review. Tell me what you think of it. Is it good? Bad? Strange? Poorly-written? Awful? The worst story you've read? The best story you've read? No matter what you think, please do review. Just don't flame me. And if you will, give me a rating from 1 to 10. (1 is the lowest, 10 is the highest). Have a happy, happy day!


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